


Twelve Weak Lies

by canismaj0ris



Series: Kanera Week 2020 [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: F/M, Fake Pregnancy, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Slice of Life, episodic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:08:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26221642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canismaj0ris/pseuds/canismaj0ris
Summary: “What about that one?” Kanan asked, making a stab at something on the star map Hera couldn’t even see.She leant forward, squinting at the… planet? Moon? Speck of dust caught in the projector? “I’m not sure I even know where that is.”He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter where it is. I’ve got a feeling.”An injury forces Hera and Kanan to land on Eso, a planet neither of them have heard of. Neither of them expect to fall undercover as a young couple expecting the first child, just because the people of the village are so convinced that’s who they are.[Kanera Week Day 2: undercover]
Relationships: Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla
Series: Kanera Week 2020 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1903717
Comments: 1
Kudos: 20
Collections: Kanera Week 2020





	Twelve Weak Lies

**Author's Note:**

> The rest of the chapters will be available as written, post Kanera Week. They will vary in length, and this will be the longest.
> 
> Eso does not exist in the Star Wars universe, and there's a lot of just invented things. Sorry.
> 
> Content Warnings: discussion of pregnancy, and mention of loss of pregnancy, although neither of these actually occur for any character.

_“What about that one?” Kanan asked, making a stab at something on the star map Hera couldn’t even see._

_She leant forward, squinting at the… planet? Moon? Speck of dust caught in the projector? “I’m not sure I even know where that is.”_

_He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter where it is. I’ve got a feeling.”_

A feeling. It was always ‘ _a feeling_ ’, a phrase Hera couldn’t parse well enough to know when it was just a hunch, or something a little more concrete.

Of course, concrete generally meant something mysterious and borderline magic that she would never be able to understand and Kanan would never explain.

Hera sighed, turning back to the ground slowly rising towards them. It was a powdery brown colour, muted across the whole of the planet bar thick splotches of green and blue in a band around the equator. A quick scan showed few life forms, unsurprising based on the size of the planet, centred around several obvious sentiments.

She’d spent a good few hours in hyperspace trying to work out what exactly this planet was and if there was any infrastructure they should be aware of. But it was still just a blank pinprick in the middle of nothingness, with absolutely no information past a name and an export listed anywhere on the holonet.

Eso. Main export, something helpfully named the Eesu fruit, and wood from something called the Uko tree.

So basically there was nothing. Absolutely nothing. And yet, Kanan wanted them to go there, so they were going.

Or maybe Hera was just tired of arguing. They’d had nothing but fights the last few days, the stress of their repeated failed missions rubbing them both the wrong way over and over.

The wound on her side still stung, and her leg wouldn’t hold her full weight unless she was leaning on something.

It had been an eventful tenday, to say the least.

The atmosphere seemed pretty good, rocking the ship a small amount as they entered. The gravity felt… fairly average, which made sense for the size of the planet.

Hera tapped the intercom button on the control panel, leaning forward. “Almost ready to land, Kanan. If you could come up, that would be great.”

It would take a little while for them to reach the ground, but having them both up front would help. There was so little they could do without the pretence of a fully functioning crew - or even a family unit, in some cases. It stopped people questioning how two people so young had ended up with a ship of their own, travelling the galaxy instead of enlisting or settling down to start a family.

There were no prizes for guessing which comment was directed at who.

By the time the landing legs of the Ghost had fully extended, Kanan was finally in the cockpit. Whatever he’d been doing in his quarters had apparently held him up, but nothing past the “sorry, I was busy” indicated what exactly that was.

A dark-skinned Kiffar waved them down, her dark hair tied up and fluttering behind her back. Hera could already see the pouch on her belt, likely heavy with credits and whatever else people were paying in.

Kanan sighed, standing without prompting. Sometimes, his Force sensitivity came in handy. “I’ll go get it.”

The minute they were securely landed and shut down, the Kiffar was stepping up to meet them. She was tall, as tall as Kanan if not more so. She looked somewhat strict, but nothing they couldn’t handle.

“Y’new here?” she asked, voice rough under her Outer Rim accent. Kanan nodded, immediately stepping up to his usual role. They’d practised this too many times to slip up. “Yes, Ma’am. Looking for somewhere safe to dock our ship, likely long term.”

“You planning to stick around?” “We hope so,” Her added, moving to stand slightly behind Kanan’s shoulder. “We could do with a fresh start.”

For a second, the Kiffar considered them. “Work?”

Kanan nodded to himself. “For me, not for her,” he shrugged towards Hera. The Kiffar gave her an odd look, analysing something between them that was a little uncomfortable. “She’s not well at the minute.”

It wasn’t a lie, and it wasn’t hard for her to see. Hera knew she was washed out, skin grey-ish as she recovered from the obnoxious injury on her side. Even when she tried to stand straight, she was hunched to one side.

Whatever the Kiffar was looking for, she clearly found. “Well, if you’re sticking around, call me Mihra. Now…” She glanced to the Ghost, the cogs ticking behind her eyes. “Y’planning to stay on the ship, or are ya looking for a house?”

They looked between each other, considering for half a second. “Yeah,” Kanan spoke up, turning back to Mihra. “Yeah, somewhere to live would be great.”

She nodded, turning to call something over her shoulder. It sounded like Huttese, but it might not be at all - definitely derivative though. One of the attendants rushed off somewhere.

“Tiss will see what she can find. Let’s get your ship settled, and then we’ll get you somewhere to stay.” She must have noticed the confusion in Hera’s face, unsure why they were willing to help. “Relax. You aren’t the first people to turn up like this, and y’won’t be the last. We’re a community of people on the run from something or other. If you’re willing to work, we’re willing to help.”

She said it with finality, as if she expected neither of them to ask any more questions.

And so they didn’t.

—

They were barely settled an hour when someone knocked on the door. The wood rattled its metal fixtures, a noise neither of them were particularly used to, before opening easily.

Hera reached for her blaster automatically, Kanan doing the same. She already had it trained on the doorway when a tall, Rodian woman stepped forward. Her eyes trained on the blasters for a moment, but she didn’t react.

Her bright, star-field eyes watched the two of them before she half turned towards the doorway. “Maar? I would stay outside a little longer, if I were you.”

Hera half-lowered the blaster, but not completely.

When the Rodian turned back, she smiled. “Apologies, I clearly should have waited. Mahra told me you were looking for work?”

Kanan stepped forward, nodding. “I am.”

She nodded. “The name’s Tsiin, I work in one of the forests just out of town - fruit picking. Not necessarily difficult, but we mainly pick for ourselves so it’s fairly rewarding.”

There was a moment of quiet while Kanan considered it. “And the pay?”

“I should have guessed,” Tsiin laughed, shaking her head. “It’s fair. Some of the payment is in food, we pick a variety so it doesn’t get too bad. Otherwise, it’s pay based on quantity. 30 credits per bag, we normally get a handful done between us a day.”

Kanan clicked his ton. “So, why do I pick that instead of the other options?”

“Three things,” she held her hand up, four fingers curled up into a fist. “Safety. Shorter hours. Less Imperial pressure.” Something about that made Tsiin look directly at Hera. “More time at home, supporting your partner here.”

“That’s four things,” Hera pointed out sharply, but Kanan half spoke over her.

“Fine. When do I start?”

“Day after tomorrow. Get yourselves settled tomorrow. I’ll come and collect you an hour after dawn, and you’ll be back before sundown.”

To Hera, they sounded long hours of physical labour, but Kanan seemed to think it was fine. “Okay. Deal. I can’t promise how long we’ll hang around, though.”

“Oh, we’re used to that.”

The new voice was deeper, raspier, strangely melodic for the near-human body it came from. Their hair was so dark, it stuck out against the almost white colour of his skin and their clouded eyes. In one hand they held a bag of interlocking ropes, metal containers swinging low.

The cane in their other hand tapped on the floor just in front of him.

They smiled vaguely into the room, mostly looking towards them but not perfectly. “Apologies for interrupting, but we are more than used to people coming and going in our community. Fast friends are common here.”

Tsiin sighed from where she should. “This is Maar. They run one of the market stalls in town.”

Kanan stayed quiet, but Hera forced herself to smile, hoping he could hear it in how she spoke. “Nice to meet you, Maar.”

“Likewise,” they replied, before holding out the rope bag towards her. It was more direct than previously, her voice helping them pinpoint a little more accurately. “I brought you some necessities to last you until at least tomorrow. Hopefully, you will find them helpful. There is not much, but I checked with some locals for what you would need to eat, Miss…”

“Hera,” she supplied quickly, hoping against all odds that this wasn’t a bad idea.

“Miss Hera. I asked what you could eat, while Kanan, I can guess myself,” they smile was a little too wide, but not threatening in its strangeness. “Hopefully you will find something to your liking.”

“There’s bedding in here as well,” Tsiin said carefully. “And spare clothes. Like I’m sure Mihra said, we are more than used to strangers arriving on our doorstep.”

Hera stepped forward again, letting Kanan take his time. Whatever he was reading into the two, it was taking all of his focus. “Thank you, honestly. It’s incredibly generous of you.” She stepped forward to take the bag, surprised by how heavy it was, and how little effort Maar had been exerting.

Tsiin looked between both of them, before nodding .”Alright, well. We’ll let you get settled. Come on, old man, I’ll walk you home.”

The near-human turned sharply, putting their arm out to take Tsiin’s. “You two had best come and visit me soon.”

Now, Kanan replied. “Of course, Sir. As soon as we can.”

“And I shall hold you to that!” Something in their tone was completely serious.

Just as they crossed the threshold, Tsiin twisted back. “Day after tomorrow, kid. Me and the crew will come and get you.”

Kanan nodded, giving her his best grin. “I’m looking forward to it.”

—

The house was small and dark, thankfully cool despite the high humidity outside. It almost reminded Hera of the buried houses on Ryloth, chasing away the burning sun and the impending dessert by blocking out the sunlight that most humanoids were desperate for.

Kanan, she knew, hated it. He’d told her often enough in the week they’d been based on Eso. Something about the lack of natural light, and the strange feeling of being half-buried in clay and hay walls.

Still, Hera had forced him to stick with it, pushing through the wobbliness in her right thigh as she ran more whitewash across the peeling wall. One of the neighbours had given it to them, with instructions to paint their new home before the peeling paint cracked through to the wall and the smell of dung crept from its prison.

She hated painting, had since she was a child, but even Hera had to admit there was something nice about painting walls. There was no precision to it, covering such a large space in a single colour, but she could still see where she’d succeeded to cover it.

It was more than a little satisfying.

The twinge in her torn rib muscle reminded her not to lift her arms too high, but there was no way she could balance on one of the stools they’d found. The wound in her leg was healing quickly, but it had been a nasty shot, with metal hooks digging into her leg before she’d had a chance to think. Even now, weeks later, it twitched and ached whenever she put weight through it.

Taking a deep breath, she hobbled over to the mats they’d been using as a bed (two of them, layered over each other for some comfort, even if it meant sleeping next to each other). The drop to the ground was further than she would have liked, her leg giving out halfway as she hit the mat with a thump.

At least, she mostly made it onto the mat - before decided that was far enough. The mats themselves weren’t thick enough to hold her at an uncomfortable angle, even half hanging off them, and moving much further would take more energy than she had. Pausing there would work which better

Hera reached for the comm tucked into the waistband of the shorts she’d claimed from Kanan (she tried not to think of them as underwear, because they weren’t - he just slept in them). They were easier to move in while she renovated the space they would be living in for the next few weeks at least.

“Kanan?” she asked carefully, listening for the telltale _bzzzzz-click_ to say she’d connected. “Make sure to get eggs for tonight as well.”

A laugh came from the other end, covered in static but completely Kanan. “I know, Hera, I’ve already got them.”

“And the vegetables I asked you to get?”

—

Kanan stared down at the pile he was carrying. “Okuru, gulalung, solum and greens.”

“And the annuum?” Hera added, the lecture obvious in her tone.

“Of course,” he lied through his teeth, doing his best to sound exasperated. “How could I forget?”

The sigh on the other end of the line made the comm crackle unpleasantly. “Just remember to pick them up before you come home. And the persipan. Can’t make sweet curry without them.”

“I know, I know, you tell me often enough.” He absolutely did not know, they had never discussed this, but there was something about admitting that that felt like it would blow their cover. After all, the people of this community had decided they were an established couple, and he wasn’t about to make them question that.

He could hear Hera moving around on the pallet they’d been sleeping. It creaked if you moved to hard. “Can you get some alata as well? I fancy some. We can cook them with porridge in the morning.”

It had been way too long since they’d eaten fresh fruit and vegetables instead of the rations they mainly ate while travelling, and the first time they’d had a steady income in even longer. He was already heading back to the market anyway, so he might as well.

That didn’t stop him filling his voice with exasperation, the fake tone he used for chores he would do without her even asking. “Of course, _your highness_ , I’ll get you what you want.”

A hand reached out, catching him around the back of his head. “Wha- hey!” He spun around, face to face with a fairly old Nagai, who had already caught him at their market stall that morning. “Maar?”

The comm in his hand crackled. “Kanan?” Hera’s voice was filled with concern.

Maar’s eyes were greyed over with cataracts, but they still landed on the comm. “Apologies, I have interrupted you. Continue.”

Kanan watched them carefully, not sure how to take this interruption. Still, he returned the com to in front of his mouth. “Don’t worry, Hera. It’s just a friend being a pain-” Beside him, Maar laughed as if that was the best joke they’d ever heard. “I’ll be back soon. I’ll speak to you later.”

“You’d better, Jarrus, or you’ll regret it.” The comm pinged once more as the connection was severed. Immediately, he spun to the Nagai.

“Really?”

“You shouldn’t complain about your partner, Kanan Jarrus. She is trying her hardest to keep her spirits up while shut inside.”

Of course, Maar knew nothing about why Hera was shut inside, past that she was unwell. That was a lie they kept spreading - not that it was completely a lie, just an oversimplification.

“I know, Maar,” Kanan said with a shake of his head. He knew she was struggling, but what else could they do. She could barely walk, never mind anything else. “She’s trying to keep herself busy, painting the house while I’m at work, but- OW!”

This tap on his shoulders was barely a tap. “Kanan Jarrus! You should be more careful. Your wife-”

“Partner,” he shot in quickly, trying to stop that instantly.

Maar nodded almost immediately. “Your partner is in a delicate position.”

Something clicked in Kanan’s mind, that perhaps telling everyone Hera was unwell would end badly for them both, long term. “No, no, she’s not that kind of sick. She’s just making sure to give herself plenty of time to rest.” Then he laughed, brushing his hair back out of his eyes. “Besides, I’m not sure I could get her to stop if I tried.”

The Nagai seemed to consider this, before nodding again. “Still. She should not exert herself, no matter how tempting.”

“Try telling that to Hera,” Kanan continued to laugh.

They arrived back at Maar’s stall, which they had left completely unguarded while they wandered off to… hopefully do something other than following Kanan, but he honestly couldn’t be so sure.

Each of the shelves and crates was practically overgrowing with local fruit and foraged roots, along with cheaply imported items. The whole place smelled like overheated sweetness, with a side of acidity.

Maar didn’t say anything as they placed food items into Kanan’s arms, and the robe bag they had given them on the first day that had arrived there.

“No, Maar, we don’t need any meiloorun you’re fine, or any eesu, I’ll be getting some from work later this week, I don’t have the money to-”

Maar shook their head. “Take them, from me to you. I have seen many like your partner here, and fresh food is always good. After all, she will need her strength, and you will need to be prepared. The next generation are always particular in their wants.”

Kanan blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”

Maar watched him carefully. A few skinny black braids falling in front of their eyes before they spoke again. “Apologies. I assumed you already knew - it has been the talk of the town for the last few days.”

Thoughts swirled in the back of Kanan’s head. Yeah, okay, the town wasn’t that big - maybe a few hundred people maximum, and most of them lived identical lives to all of the other’s around them, so gossip was a bit of a thing.

They were meant to be laying low.

“That… Hera is pregnant?”

Maar nodded as if that was obvious. “Of course. That is why she is in seclusion, yes? Not a practice I would use myself, but I know many species - including Twi’leks, she is a Twi’lek, yes? - use them as standard practice.”

The townspeople thought Hera was pregnant. They had taken the fake relationship between the two alongside Hera’s ‘illness’, and decided that meant they were going to be parents.

It took a few seconds, and a few deep breaths, for Kanan to pull his thoughts together. “No, no, she’s… she’s not in seclusion, Maar, she’s just more comfortable at home.” Maar gave him a look of complete disbelief, and Kanan made himself press on. “She has an injury to one of her legs that’s playing up.”

They nodded as if a grave secret had finally been explained. “Well, I’m sure she’ll be up and walking in no time. Just make sure you get her the food she has requested - the body knows what it needs better than we could ever understand.”

All Kanan could do was nod. If Maar wasn’t going to understand that Hera wasn’t pregnant, he wasn’t going to push it. Stars, he couldn’t even make himself think about it fully.

He handed over the credits to pay, Maar handing him back the chunk that would have covered the extra fruit. Kanan didn’t bother arguing, quickly taking his leave and ending their conversation abruptly. The Nagai wasn’t at all putout.

It was only when he was sure they were out of earshot that Kanan felt safe to react. “Shit.” At least Maar had covered Hera’s requests - he wouldn’t have to face anyone else that day. “ _Shit._ ”

—

“You didn’t tell him I wasn’t?”

Hera stood with her hands on her hips, poised like she was ready to fight. She had him quite literally cornered, standing in the centre of the room while he was sat on the bed.

“I told him you weren’t secluded, I just didn’t specifically say you weren’t pregnant.”

It had seemed logical at the time to let the cover the town had invented for them fly, but Hera was taking this much worse than Kanan had thought she would. He’d assumed that he would come home, explain what had been said, and they would laugh about it - but, no, Hera was taking personal offence to it.

She threw her hands in the air, lekku barely bobbing behind her. “That’s the problem! You should have just said I wasn’t, corrected him before it went any further.”

Kanan shrugged. He wanted nothing more than to pull his knees up to his chest, but he’d been trained better than that. “Does it really matter? They’ll work it out soon enough, once you’re well enough to wander around and they realise you clearly aren’t pregnant.”

“They’re just going to assume I’m not showing yet,” Hera added almost too quickly. “Or worse.” Her voice cracked as she said that. Then she shifted, dropping onto the mat beside him. Her head fell into her hands. The defeat in her voice was obvious “I don’t want to be involved with this, Kanan.”

Kanan shifted himself to put his hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry, Hera. I didn’t think about the impact this would have - to be honest, I’m not sure I even thought. I was so caught off guard, I’m not sure I was planning anything.”

Hera made herself breath, lekku still unnaturally calm. “I know.” She sighed, pushing herself further forward. “I know you didn’t mean it, I just… I don’t know how to deal with that.” There was another pause before she let out a frustrated, grumbling sound. “But I don’t know how we get out of it without sounding awful, especially with people giving us free things because they think I’m pregnant!”

He nodded, looking towards her carefully. “We could always let them have their rumour. Leave before they realise you’re not showing because you’re not actually pregnant.”

“That’s a terrible idea,” Hera said quickly. “We’d be breaking their trust, making them think something about us that we’re not. It’s one thing to keep saying ‘partners’, it’s another to actually commit to that.”

“But you’re considering it.”

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

Everything dropped away for a moment, except the bubbling of the curry over the fire. It smelt deliciously spicy and sweet, filling the room around them.

For the first time in a long time, Kanan wondered if he should meditate.

He immediately pushed that out of his brain.

Hera sat up a little straighter. “ Can humans and twi’leks even have children together?”

“I mean, yeah, of course they can?” Kanan couldn’t help the question in his voice, wanting to know how he knew that when she didn’t. “I’ve never met any properly, but I saw plenty of blended families when I was growing up.”

Her body stopped moving, even though it barely was in the first place. For a single breath, she was just looking at him, and he was looking at her, and something around them shifted.

“I’m never letting you near me again,” she said finally.

“What?” Kanan huffed, gesturing towards her where she stood in front of him. “I’ve never even been near you! At all! What- I- You-” He took a deep breath, staring towards the shuttered windows. Hopefully, no one could hear them. “Look. If it bothers you that much, I’ll start correcting people.”

Hera sighed, flopping back on the mat as if she’d given up. She tried to hold back the wince, but Kanan still noticed. He didn’t comment.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you shouldn’t. Start correcting people, I mean.” She didn’t look completely convinced, but something must have done it. “It might be easier if they think I’m staying at home because of morning sickness. We wouldn’t have to explain why it’s taking so long to recover from a minor injury.”

“Do you think we can pull it off, though? No offence, but we’ve known each other for - what, a year? Do we know each other well enough to pass for a couple who would be having a kid together?”

Hera shrugged where she lay. “I don’t think it matters, Kay. Not every couple is physically affectionate in public - some aren’t affectionate at all. Hopefully no one will notice.” Then she laughed, bright and filling the room. “Besides, we wouldn’t be fake dating, we’re just… not correcting their assumptions. It doesn’t mean we have to actually pretend we’re together.”

Kanan hummed to himself, trying to find the line in his head. It would be incredibly difficult to find the line where people would just accept their relationship, and not ask any questions.

“So we have… what? Two, two and a half months here then?”

Hera nodded. “That would be the plan. We can probably go for more if we need to, but let’s aim for that.”

Two and a half months. Just two and a half months.

He could probably manage that.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Feel free to kudos/comment if you enjoyed it <3
> 
> You can also find the fic on my tumblr: gaystardust.tumblr.com  
> Or come chat to me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/majorisbooks  
> You can see more Kanera Week content on their tumblr: https://kaneraweek.tumblr.com/


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